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Monday, July 2, 2018

Time Travel Trading Update #14

Andrew Benintendi was one of the up and coming new stars of baseball. His talent was undeniable, and he was generally well-liked by everyone. Still, he thought it was odd when the National Organization of Temperamental New York Sports Enthusiasts (NOT-NYSE) invited him to accept their award for Outstanding MLB Rookie of the Year. He would have thought that a NY based group would have given their award to Aaron Judge, seeing as how he was the actual Rookie of the Year winner. Still, he was raised to be grateful, so he accepted the invitation to a dinner ceremony.When he arrived, they led him on stage to a big throne-like chair. "OK, this makes more sense", he thought. "The New Yorkers are going to roast a Red Sox player and have some fun at my expense." He was expecting some good-natured kidding, but as soon as he sat down his arms and legs were clamped down. He couldn't move, and the men and women of NOT-NYSE closed in around him with evil grins on their faces. "It's a shame Mookie gave us some lame excuse to not show up, but at least now we won't have to worry about you ruining our chances for another title!"

*****

Guillermo was a man of precise organization. If a job did not satisfy every item on his checklist, it wasn't considered done. The men under his command knew this well, and knew that is what made him an ideal leader on this particular project. Soldiers and scientist alike stood in a straight line as Guillermo walked slowly down with clip board in hand.Every minute detail was rattled off, from the calibration of the time quartz crystals to the latest fire extinguisher tests. If he didn't hear a resounding "check!" from one of his underlings, everything would stop until that task was completed to his satisfaction. Failure was not an option, not when it involve sending a human being back in the past. For the first time in a long time, every checkbox was marked as planned. Tonight was going to be a good night, he believed.

*****

The man they called "Spaceman" was tired of sitting around. Through the wonders of time travel, he found himself in same physical condition as he was 40 years ago. And yet, the opportunities in Major League baseball were few. His preferred team, the Red Sox, didn't have any openings in their rotation, and his second preference, the Expos, no longer existed. he had a few minor league contract offers from a few other clubs, but the truth was, no one thought he could still pitch. Maybe they're right, he thought. After all, kids these days are throwing 100 MPH pitches with ease. Bill Lee took a look at an old photograph hanging nearby. It showed him at the All-Star game, a giant among giants. Perhaps he needed to go back to the 70's, possibly even the 80's. With the knowledge he had now, the statistical reports available, why, he could outsmart any of those guys. Lee would know every pattern, every swing. Yeah, it's time to go back...

*****

Since the last update, I agreed to three separate trades! As long as I have new cards to show off, I won't need to put cards on the proverbial chopping block. Hopefully I won't need to do that for awhile.

My trade drought was broken a few weeks ago by Doe from Now and Zen. Doe came right back at me with another trade offer, this time for the 1979 Topps Bill Lee. In his initial offering, he teased a "a 1970 tea card card that will add a wild flavor to the adventure!" I was more than willing to find out, and as promised this wild card gets added to the stack:

This cute little polar bear is from a 1970 Wildlife set by Red Rose and Blue Ribbon. Pretty cool, huh?

Tom form the blog The Angels In Order likes to collect checklists. So I sent him the checklist from 1966, and in return, this slightly mis-cut 1956 beauty is now available to add to your collection:

(I have to admit, it was tough coming up with a story centered around a checklist!)

There's a trader on the Trading Card Database who has for all intent and purposes become the "Patron Saint of the Time Travel Trading Project". The majority of vintage cards that you'll find in the stack have come from him. He offers up a one-for-one trade, and the card he offers is usually well beyond what I would consider to be a fair return. That card alone would make me happy, but he always sends more. I recently completed a third trade with him, and he continues to follow this pattern. In exchange for a 2018 Topps Opening Day insert of Andrew Benintendi, he sent me...

Another 1954 Bowman! This was the original agreed upon card for the trade. I told you it was more than what could be considered fair. But of course, that's not all I received. The Patron Saint included some more recent cards:

Some early 70's baseball:

A quartet of Red Sox from 1964:

Some vintage football/hockey:

Oh, look! More vintage baseball, this time from the 50's!

No, not done yet:

And, to wrap it all up, a great card from the classic TV show Zorro!

That's 25 cards he contributed to the stack. With these new trades, the Time Travel Trade Stack is at a whopping 75 cards! There's something for everyone here, and now is the time to stake your claim on any of these cards. As always, my condition is that I get a card older than what I send you. Baseball cards are preferred, but it's nice to have variety too! Make me an offer, either through this post or on the TCDB (Member Name: Kep75).